As promised …

The is a dual South African outlet.  (Each outlet has a switch above it, which seems to be common here.)  Before leaving, I went online and bought a cable with a "universal" 2-pin connector on one end and a South African plug on the other.

The South African plug looks like something you’d use to plug in a 40-amp, 220 V clothes dryer, but it’s just their every day plug.  A power strip with 3 of these is the same length as a power strip with 7 or 8 standard US outlets and a good bit wider.  Heh.

One would assume that the Dell power supply would take the universal 2 pin connector.  I mean, that’s the point of a universal power supply – you just change the power cord to the local standard and viola.  Right???

 

A standard 2-pin almost fits into those 2 pins on the right, but not quite.  What was Dell thinking?

So now I’m in trouble.  I have my laptop, but I’ve used up the batteries on the flight.  Without a way to plug in and recharge, all the computer stuff I brought is just dead weight.

I have another, similar problem too.  I bought an external charger for my camcorder batteries but it came with a 2-pin North America plug and no interchangeable power cord.

It’s has a universal internal power supply, but a non-interchangeable plug. 

As it turns out, this is a very common problem with an equally common solution.  In my short time here I’ve seen many outlets with adapters such as the one below plugged in to them.  This adapter plugs into the SA 3-pin outlet and provides a SA 3-pin and two European 2-pin outlets.  (There are lots of things sold around here that have European plugs on them.)

So what I need is something like this but with a North American outlet on it (into which I must take care to plug only universal power supplies).  A small, local computer shop had just the thing.

This plugs in to the SA outlet and provides an SA outlet on the front and two multi-country outlets on the sides – a 2-pin and a 3-pin.  Although it looks a bit odd, it does accept NA plugs.  Eureka!

As a side benefit, this adapter also solves the problem of my camcorder battery charger.  Here is the SA outlet with the NA adapter, a European adapter, my Dell power supply plug, and my camcorder charger all stacked up.  It’s ridiculous, but it works!

Moral of the story, instead of buying universal power cords for the country you’re visiting, find out if it’s easier to use an adapter.  I did have a use for the one power cord I bought, though.  It readily fits the camcorder power supply.

Why couldn’t Dell have made it this easy?

Saturday was our one and only "down day" of the trip.  What a refreshing break!  Laura and I took the commuter train two stops south to Simon’s Town, home port of the South African Navy and the famous Boulder’s Beach penguin colony.  We saw the ships;  we didn’t see the penguins.  Maybe tomorrow?  (I did see a penguin on Robben Island, but I wasn’t in a position to take a picture of it.)

Notes:

1. Every day since we arrived we’ve had a couple of hours without electricity.  This is due to a planned program of "load shedding."  In other words, there isn’t enough power being generated to meet the needs of everyone at once.  So at any given time, some people don’t have it.  As I’ve said, this is a mostly 1st world metropolitan area, and then you’re reminded by lack of electricity for a certain part of each day that you’re not in Kansas any more.

2. Laura ordered springbok for dinner today.  It was quite tasty.

3. We’re going to worship in a church in Guguletu township tomorrow.  We’ve been told to expect an amazing experience. 

On Friday we drove along the coast of False Bay from our B&B in Fish Hoek to Philippi, a very large township in the Cape Flats area.  We saw a mixture of affordable, middle class starter homes close to the beach.  Further inland there is a sea of small, concrete block houses.  Our guide, Raymond, explained that most families in the area have taken in relatives who build shacks like we saw in Masiphumelele in the tiny back yards. 

Laura posted about the Lutheran mission we visited there, iThemba Labantu, where they do everything from serve food to take care of AIDS patients.  It is a great example of practical, person-to-person ministry where everything, large and small, is done with excellence.  This ministry is very deserving of your support.

In the afternoon we had a chance to meet Keith Vermeulen, who is the director of the South African Council of Churches Parliamentary Office.

Notes:

1. Finally had an opportunity to try some local seafood.  The fish and chips is very good here, as you would expect.

2. Kansas City vs. Cape Town:

Some locals say it’s always windy.  Others say the southeaster is unusual for this time of year.  My hat has been blown off my head at least 5 times.  I almost lost it twice.

I need the hat to protect my balding head from the sun.  When they say you need sunscreen here, they aren’t just a kiddin’.

3. Our hosts are Peter and Solveig Kjeseth.  Both are Lutherans originally from Minnesota.  Peter is a retired seminary professor of New Testament who at one time was a colleague of Shannon Jung, the Saint Paul professor leading our trip, at Dubuque University seminary.  How did Peter and Solveig come to spend their retirement in Cape Town?  Part of the answer becomes clear in this excerpt featuring them from the book No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists over a Half Century, 1950-2000.  Better hosts we could never hope for, but I wish their WiFi was better.  😉

4. Yes, water going down a drain rotates counter-clockwise.  Can I get some video demonstrating it?  I think I would need food coloring or something.  Hmmm …

5. On Tuesday, our first day here, I noticed the sun near mid-day was to our north.  In all my 45 years of life, I’ve never seen the sun to my north.

6. I will post separately about the electrical plugs for any of you considering a trip here.  It was challenging as I expected.  Now that I’ve finally figured it out, it’s almost time to leave.  Heh.

7. The drive along the Hout Bay coast road is the most spectacular I’ve seen anywhere in the world, including Maui, California, Cape Cod, and Puerto Rico.  The Cape Town area is simply beautiful.

8. Several days we have enjoyed the hospitality of Raymond, who I mentioned in a previous post.  If you ever come to Cape Town with a group, get on Raymond’s calendar months in advance.  His knowledge of the city is invaluable for a group of first-time visitors.

I didn’t post yesterday because I couldn’t keep my eyes open after we got back from a long day.  Turns out when you combine motion sickness medicine with a long day, short sleep, and delayed jet lag you have an overwhelming need to sleep!  To understand why I needed motion sickness medicine, read Laura’s post.  ;-)  As before, I spent time helping her select, crop, and down-rez pictures instead of working on my own posts.  So look at hers.  My own pics will have to wait.

Yesterday notes:

1. The commuter train was fun.  I met a 25ish guy on the train who asked about my HD video camera.  It became clear quickly that he knew a lot about the subject.  Turns out he works for a local TV station.  Very bright and well educated.  Asked me about the US presidential election: was I for Clinton or Obama?  Thought it was significant that our next president will be either black or a woman.  His question and comment were telling. 

2. Cape Town is WINDY.  I figured it was just a weather system moving through the first couple of days we were here.  When I commented on it to the locals, they said, "You think THIS is windy?  It’s like this all the time.  You haven’t experienced wind until you’ve been here during a storm."

3. Robben Island is a special place, but the tour itself wasn’t wonderful.  Regardless, the forgiveness and healing represented there are quite profound.  Read Laura’s post for details.

4. Our tour guide for the first part of the Robben Island tour told us a bit of his own story.  He has a college degree in electrical engineering but hasn’t been able to find work in that field in South Africa.  When the tour was over I told him I’m an electrical engineer too.  He asked if I could get him a job.  I said, "maybe, if you are willing to come to the US."  He asked for my e-mail address.

5. Had bobotie yesterday for lunch.  The "national dish" of SA.  Comfort food, basically, with a kind of Indian curry twist.  Very tasty, although I kind of regretted my lunch choice when on the rough boat ride to Robben Island (again, see Laura’s post). 

Today notes:

1. SHADE rocks!  See Laura’s post for today for details.

2. Raymond, our driver and tour guide for the day, is an amazing person.  He’s an independent contractor for the US Consulate here.  His job is to host visitors, mostly from the US, who come in for business with the Consulate – USAID, interns, FBI, etc.  He picks them up from the airport, drives them around, tells them about the city, points out landmarks, etc.  He told me about the turning point in his life.  As a youth he was always in trouble, got into drugs, sailed the world on cargo ships, and was a complete mess.  Then he met Jesus in a Pentecostal church and was instantly healed of his addictions and turned his life in a new and productive direction.  He’s now a father and grandfather, not to mention a warm host for visitors from the US.

3. Cape Town is a beautiful city.  I’ll post some pictures soon.  I promise.

4. The contrast between the upscale areas of downtown Cape Town and the townships gives one pause.  It may take me some time before I can explain what I mean by that.

Instead of blogging myself this evening I helped Laura prepare a pictorial post of our trip to Masiphumelele today.  Check it out.

No time tonight for me to add much except the following quick notes:

1. Although it’s a shantytown, Masiphumelele is 1st world in a number of ways.  Most/all of the homes and businesses have electricity and running water.  I saw shops selling cell phones and cell service.  One of the homes we visited had a land-line telephone, two computers, and a TV.  Some of them also had cars and makeshift garages.

2. Masiphumelele is only a 10 minute drive from the seaside town of Fish Hoek where we’re staying.  Today in Fish Hoek we saw a real estate office where I took note that the price of a home up on the mountainside overlooking False Bay is upwards of $1 million.  The Cape Town area is a very strange place: 1st world and 2nd world (if there is such a thing) within 10 minutes of each other.

3. Masiphumelele has 20,000+ people living in a very small "neighborhood".  That density makes the place charmingly vibrant.  It’s teeming with activity of every sort.  The people we met were happy and hopeful.

4. HIV/AIDS is an unbelievably-horrible problem in Masiphumelele.  More on that later.

Tomorrow we take the commuter train to downtown Cape Town and on to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.  Our host described it as a holy shrine to the end of apartheid and the people who brought it about.  I expect this will be one of the most profound experiences of the trip.

It’s 12:30 am here.  I’m going to bed!

 

Downtown Johannesburg.

False Bay just seconds before landing in Cape Town.

In my continuing series about interoperability and openness in social networking systems and sites, I direct your attention to

Robert Scoble – Can we get a first step in social networking portability?

Dave Winer – Bebo running Facebook apps

Aaron Linne – On the Data Portability Initiative

Joe Suh – Social Network Platform Wars

I write this from 33,000 feet above the central Atlantic Ocean, bound for Johannesburg and then on to Cape Town, South Africa.  While there we will be meeting a number of ministry leaders, visiting AIDS clinics and orphanages, learning about South African history and apartheid, visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, taking pictures of penguins, etc. 

Before we left Kansas City this afternoon, Shannon Jung, the Saint Paul professor who is leading our trip, asked each of us in the group to share our expectations for the trip.  I said I’m open to the experience – whatever comes will be just what God has in mind.  I hope to be able to post several times during the trip to keep all of you updated.  I appreciate your prayers for myself and all of those on the trip:

Lia Mcintosh
Morgan Whitaker
Andrew Smith
Carmen Williams
Sue Barham
Kyle Butler
Laura Guy
Tina Harris
Dixie & Robert Junk
Michael Dunlap
Dr. Shannon Jung

Does this look from the outside like a place where you’re likely to get great barbecue? 

Turns out the food is fantastic.  Oklahoma Joe’s in Kansas City is in a gas station/ convenience store.  (And yes, that’s Travis pretending to pump gas.)  

The staff person in the restaurant we asked to take this picture cut our heads off, making our post-dinner full bellies even more prominent than they otherwise would have been!  My only regret is that Mark White missed the fun due to a sudden bout of the queasies.  Alfred would have loved it too.